Marquez, Pedrosa look forward to racing at Buriram International Circuit for the first time

In five days the world will know the first ever MotoGP winner of the Grand Prix of Thailand, a country where the World Championship is hugely popular and the race, to be hosted at the Buriram International Circuit, is eagerly awaited.

Looking back at the three-day test hosted last 16-18 February at the 4.6 km Hermann Tilke-designed track, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez completed totals of 224 and 271 laps, setting the first- and third-fastest times, respectively, in the combined standings (1’29.781” on day 3 for Pedrosa, 1’29.969” on day 2 for Marquez). Faithful to his typical working method, Marc also completed a very impressive race simulation in the afternoon heat of the test’s final day, including a long string of high-1’30” laps.

Although weather and track conditions will have to be addressed all over again via tyre choice and bike setup beginning Friday morning, the Repsol Honda riders will try and put to good use the work completed, in order to be among the first three riders to step onto the Thai MotoGP podium.

“It will be exciting to race in Thailand for the first time; for sure there will be many fans in the grandstands, which is always a nice feeling. We must remain focused and calm though, as it will be important to manage the weekend well, working in the way that we’re used to doing. We had a good test in February but we’ll need to recheck every detail starting on Friday morning. Some parts of the circuit are tricky, but the layout in general is nice. Surely the high humidity and temperature are going to be demanding on the body, but when you get on the bike you just forget those things and simply focus on riding.”

“Today’s result was a very disappointing one as we had a real chance to fight for the podium. I lost the front when I was pushing hard and getting closer to the front. I hit a bump and couldn’t save it. The crucial moment was the start, as first I had an issue with the clutch and soon after that, Miller took the inside into the corner too fast and pushed us both wide so that we lost ground. As we had all been forced to use the hard rear, I struggled to warm the tyres up over the first three laps, and I didn’t have good grip. It took a while to get into a fast rhythm. The positive thing is that we had a strong race after that, catching the front group. We had a good chance but we didn’t make it. Hopefully the next race will be better.”

]]>http://www.rk-malaysia.com/thailand-grand-prix-marquez-pedrosa-look-forward-to-racing-at-buriram-international-circuit-for-the-first-time/feed/0Marc Marquez is the 2018 MotoGP World Champion. #Level7 completedhttp://www.rk-malaysia.com/marc-marquez-is-the-2018-motogp-world-champion-level7-completed/
http://www.rk-malaysia.com/marc-marquez-is-the-2018-motogp-world-champion-level7-completed/#respondTue, 23 Oct 2018 07:13:01 +0000http://www.rk-malaysia.com/?p=1121Marc Marquez scored a brilliant victory at Twin Ring Motegi today, earning his eighth win of the season, the seventh World Title of his career and his fifth MotoGP World Championship in six years.

The 25-year-old Spaniard is the youngest rider in the history of the sport to win seven World Championships: 125cc in 2010, Moto2 in 2012 and MotoGP in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Marc is also the youngest rider to have won five premier-class titles.

Marc Marquez 2018 World Championship facts so far

– At the age of 25 years and 246 days, Marquez is the youngest rider of all time to reach the milestone of seven World Championships, taking the record from Mike Hailwood, who was 26 years and 140 days old when he won his seventh title, the 1966 350cc crown.

– Marquez is one of only eight riders to have taken seven or more World Championships across all classes, the others being John Surtees (7), Phil Read (7), Carlo Ubbiali (9), Mike Hailwood (9), Valentino Rossi (9), Angel Nieto (13) and Giacomo Agostini (15).

– Marquez is the youngest rider ever to win five premier-class titles, at the age of 25 years and 246 days, taking the record from Valentino Rossi, who was 26 years and 221 days old when he won his fifth premier-class title in 2005.

– Marquez has joined Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini as one of only four riders to have taken five or more premier–class titles.

– Marquez has won all his MotoGP titles while riding Honda motorcycles, joining Mick Doohan as the riders with the most premier-class crowns with the Japanese manufacturer (5).

– Only one Spanish rider has won more world titles than Marquez:Angel Nieto, who earned 13 World Championships (seven in the 125cc class and six in the 50cc class) between 1969 and 1984.

– Marquez has won at least five GPs per season over the past nine years, across three categories: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. He is the first rider to achieve this distinction in the 70-year history of motorcycle Grand Prix racing, beating his own record from last year. Previously, Mike Hailwood was the only man to have achieved at least five victories per season over seven years, across at least three classes, between 1961 and 1967.

– Marquez’s current 2018 tally of five pole positions extends his all-time pole record (in the modern era—since 1974, when full poles began to be officially recorded) to an incredible 78 poles across three classes.

– Marquez has won more MotoGP races this season than any other rider (8). He has also scored the most podiums (13) and the most pole positions (5).

]]>http://www.rk-malaysia.com/marc-marquez-is-the-2018-motogp-world-champion-level7-completed/feed/0Marc Marquez crowned 2018 World Champion at Motegihttp://www.rk-malaysia.com/marc-marquez-crowned-2018-world-champion-at-motegi/
http://www.rk-malaysia.com/marc-marquez-crowned-2018-world-champion-at-motegi/#respondTue, 23 Oct 2018 06:31:56 +0000http://www.rk-malaysia.com/?p=1106Marc Marquez took an incredible victory at Twin Ring Motegi today, becoming the 2018 MotoGP World Champion with three races to go, in front of Honda President and CEO Mr Takahiro Hachigo, who joined him on the podium.

After starting from the sixth spot on the grid, Marc was immediately able to recover four positions, taking over second place and engaging in race-long battle with title contender Andrea Dovizioso and fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow. With two laps remaining, the Italian rider crashed out of the race, just after Marc had passed him in preparation for a last-lap duel.

photo credit : hondaracingcorporation

With his eighth win of 2018 and the 69th in his career (across all classes), Marquez becomes the youngest rider of all time to reach the milestone of seven World Championships (125cc in 2010, Moto2 in 2012 and MotoGP in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018); he does this at the age of 25 years and 246 days, taking the record from Mike Hailwood, who was 26 years and 140 days old when he won his seventh title, the 1966 350cc crown.

photo credit : hondaracingcorporation

Dani Pedrosa started from 11th on the grid and recovered up to eighth place at the end of the first lap, but he struggled to maintain a good pace and was not able to improve further than that.

Marc’s victory today also extended Honda’s lead in the Constructors World Championship to 47 points, and the Repsol Honda Team’s lead in the Team Classification to 51.

Marc Marquez

Winner2018 MotoGP World Champion

“I feel really, really good. I would say it’s a dream came true, or better, that I’m living a dream. It’s something so special, here together with my team, all the Honda and HRC people, my family and my staff. It has been a great season, and ever since Aragon I’ve been tasting, imagining this title, because it was very close. Then I realized that this wasn’t my style, and I needed extra motivation, so I set the goal of trying to achieve it with my first match ball—in Motegi, by winning the race. This circuit was a challenging one to manage that, but it seems like when I’m under pressure, I feel better on the bike! Today the race was as I expected. I was prepared to make a good start and immediately make some passes. I got to second place at the end of the first lap, and then was able to follow Andrea and stay with him. I thought I could try and attack before the last lap because I felt I had something extra to give. He was pushing very hard and made a mistake, and that’s a shame because he deserved to be here on the podium. That’s also something that I think Dani would deserve at least once this season. Anyway, when I crossed the finish line it was an explosion of joy. My people prepared this Level7 celebration, but I didn’t know anything ahead of time. I never want to know, but I think it’s because I used to play that kind of game a lot. Now it’s time to celebrate this seventh title and enjoy these final three races.”

Dani Pedrosa

DNF

“Today’s result was a very disappointing one as we had a real chance to fight for the podium. I lost the front when I was pushing hard and getting closer to the front. I hit a bump and couldn’t save it. The crucial moment was the start, as first I had an issue with the clutch and soon after that, Miller took the inside into the corner too fast and pushed us both wide so that we lost ground. As we had all been forced to use the hard rear, I struggled to warm the tyres up over the first three laps, and I didn’t have good grip. It took a while to get into a fast rhythm. The positive thing is that we had a strong race after that, catching the front group. We had a good chance but we didn’t make it. Hopefully the next race will be better.”

It was another master-class race for Championship leader Marc Marquez, who took the first MotoGP win ever in Thailand in front of a cheering, enthusiast crowd of more than 100.000 spectators. Marc’s seventh victory of the season is also the 68th of his career, putting him equal with Jorge Lorenzo as the fifth-most winning rider across all classes. It was a hat-track weekend for the Spaniard, who earned pole position, set the lap record and earned the victory.

Marc’s win came down to the last corner of the last lap, thanks to a thrilling battle with title contender Andrea Dovizioso. The points scenario makes the next round, the Grand Prix of Japan, the first match point for the MotoGP Title.

On the other side of the garage, a crash at turn five on lap 18 was a true shame for Dani Pedrosa, as it ended what until then had been his best race of the season; Pedrosa was charging forward from the back, with hopes of launching himself into the podium battle.

“Of course I’m very, very happy today because it’s the first time I’ve beaten Dovi in this way. We were very equal, and my strategy was to try and attack in order to open a gap and avoid having it come down to the last lap.
But Dovi had a very good pace and I was struggling with the front tyre, so I wasn’t able. Instead, I just tried to manage the tyres and stick to him. Honestly, I wasn’t so confident going into the final lap because I’ve lost many head-to-head finishes with him in the past. But this time, we swapped roles—I used Dovi’s style and Dovi used Marquez’s style!—and that worked to overtake him on the corner exit.

It was a great feeling to race in front of all the Thai fans, who cheered and supported all of us riders equally, really enjoying the sport and making me feel good over the whole weekend. I’m really thankful to them. Now the first match ball will be in Japan, which is the most important race for Honda as it’s their only home Grand Prix. Of course we’ll try our best there, but if it’s not possible, the main target is still to achieve the title at some point.”

“Of course I’m very, very happy today because it’s the first time I’ve beaten Dovi in this way. We were very equal, and my strategy was to try and attack in order to open a gap and avoid having it come down to the last lap. But Dovi had a very good pace and I was struggling with the front tyre, so I wasn’t able. Instead, I just tried to manage the tyres and stick to him. Honestly, I wasn’t so confident going into the final lap because I’ve lost many head-to-head finishes with him in the past. But this time, we swapped roles—I used Dovi’s style and Dovi used Marquez’s style!—and that worked to overtake him on the corner exit. It was a great feeling to race in front of all the Thai fans, who cheered and supported all of us riders equally, really enjoying the sport and making me feel good over the whole weekend. I’m really thankful to them. Now the first match ball will be in Japan, which is the most important race for Honda as it’s their only home Grand Prix. Of course we’ll try our best there, but if it’s not possible, the main target is still to achieve the title at some point.”

“Today’s result was a very disappointing one as we had a real chance to fight for the podium. I lost the front when I was pushing hard and getting closer to the front. I hit a bump and couldn’t save it. The crucial moment was the start, as first I had an issue with the clutch and soon after that, Miller took the inside into the corner too fast and pushed us both wide so that we lost ground. As we had all been forced to use the hard rear, I struggled to warm the tyres up over the first three laps, and I didn’t have good grip. It took a while to get into a fast rhythm. The positive thing is that we had a strong race after that, catching the front group. We had a good chance but we didn’t make it. Hopefully the next race will be better.”

Marc ultimately missed the win by only 0.130”, and definitely not for lack of trying. After taking the lead on the second lap, he tried to pull a gap at the front, but Lorenzo and Dovizioso closely chased him for most of the race. An inevitable battle was looming.

It began on lap 19 and had all of the 92,955 spectators on the edges of their seats until the last lap. At that point, it was duel between the two fellow countrymen, as Dovizioso had fallen slightly behind.

Although he still has yet to tame the Red Bull Ring, Marc leaves the track with an increased advantage in the points standings (+59 over Valentino Rossi) and the enjoyment he always feels after having given it his all in a race battle.

Dani Pedrosa also made some good overtakes today that allowed him to cross the finish line in seventh place, despite a mishap soon after the start having dropped him from a ninth-place grid spot to 14th at the end of the first lap.

The Repsol Honda Team is now leading the Team standings, Honda the Constructor and Marc Marquez the Rider Standings.

Marc Marquez

2nd

“Today I enjoyed the race a lot because I finished second but really gave it everything. In Brno I didn’t have enough confidence, while here, I tried. I started to push hard from the beginning as I had chosen the hard rear tyre with the target of trying to open a gap early on, because I knew that Dovi and Lorenzo would be very fast at the end of the race, when the tyres dropped. That was our strategy today and for a short while I believed I would be able to carry it out, but soon they caught me again. It was a great battle. I tried to defend, to change my lines, but it was impossible. This is a track where they’re very strong, especially on the straights. In these situations we try to manage at our best, and we also have our very competitive points; we were very strong on braking and entering the corners. For sure we will use those strengths and have our say at other tracks. So far we’ve always been right there, always on the podium, and that’s the most important thing. We lost only five points on Lorenzo and gained more on Valentino, who’s second in the standings. We’re happy with this result; we’ve done a great job here.”

Dani Pedrosa

7th

“After the start, turn one was a bit messy but okay, but after a couple of corners, something happened with Smith, Rossi, Zarco, and I don’t know who else, and I went off the track, losing five or six positions. I found myself very far back in the pack. As usual, in the beginning I also struggled with the feeling and grip, so it took me some time before I was able to get into a good enough rhythm. When I felt more comfortable, I started making some passes, and the situation became better and better. This is something we need to solve because by the time I start to be fast, the race is gone.”

At the Czech GP, Marc Marquez celebrated from the third step of the podium the special milestone of 100 MotoGP races, showing once again the reasons behind the impressive numbers of his still relatively short Premier Class career.

His 71st MotoGP podium out of 100 starts (71%) was the best result the young Spaniard could achieve today, so after sticking with Lorenzo and eventual winner Dovizioso until the last lap of the race, he ultimately settled for third. At the same time, he achieved his weekend goal of extending his Championship lead at a track where he did not feel totally comfortable. He arrived in the Czech Republic with a 46-point advantage on Valentino Rossi and left with +49.

The other statistics related to his special 100th MotoGP milestone are 40 wins (40%), 68 Pole positions (68%), and 42 race-fastest-laps (42%).

Teammate Dani Pedrosa, who started from 10th on the grid, continued to struggle in corner exits; only at the end of the race was he able to recover two positions and cross the finish line in eighth place.

Tomorrow, the Repsol Honda Team will remain at Brno for a one-day post-race test before moving on to Austria for next Sunday’s Grand Prix von Österreich at the Red Bull Ring Circuit.

Marc Marquez

3rd

“Our target for the weekend was to extend our lead in the Championship, and we achieved that. We arrived here with a 46-point edge, and we leave with 49, which is very good. Already yesterday I was expecting that Lorenzo and Dovi would be the strongest opponents, maybe with Valentino, and they were all there today. I was ready to fight as well, but honestly it was difficult to fight against the two Ducatisti as they had strong acceleration and braking stability. I tried but it wasn’t possible, so we took this positive third place. Today was my 100th race in MotoGP, and I used the experience that comes with that; if it had been my second or third MotoGP race, I probably would have tried for the win and either got it or crashed, but it was the 100th and I used wisdom. Third is my worst useable result this year, and I’m happy with it because we finished very close to the top at a track where we often struggle. I’m confident, as better tracks for us will come.”

Dani Pedrosa

8th

“I wasn’t comfortable on the bike and I wasn’t able to exit fast from the corners, so I was trying to recover in the entries. I was doing kind of an elastic effect. Just at the end, when the other riders’ tyres dropped and they couldn’t be so effective on acceleration, I was able to make a couple of passes. It’s not easy to ride that way, but tomorrow we have a test here and I hope we can work to be able to be faster on acceleration.”

Former AMA Supersport Champion Calling It a Career After 20 Years as a Pro

Roger Hayden, the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing standout and former AMA Supersport Champion has announced his intention of retiring from professional racing at the end of this season. (Brian J. Nelson photo)

Chino, CA (July 31, 2018) — Roger Hayden, the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing standout and former AMA Supersport Champion has announced his intention of retiring from professional racing at the end of this season. Hayden, the youngest of the world-famous Hayden brothers, has been a leading racer for nearly all of his 20 seasons as a professional. Suzuki and Hayden are exploring ways he might stay involved in the sport after this part of his career is completed.

“This is not something I’ve decided lightly,” Roger explained. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I’ve been going to races on the weekends since I was nine and I just thought it was the right time to move on to the next chapter in my life. I want to spend more time with my wife and maybe do some traveling and start a family at some point soon.

“Yoshimura and Suzuki have felt like a family to me. Don (Sakakura) and Pat (Alexander) are more like friends to me than a boss. We talk about life, sports, you name it and it’s just been a pleasure to be part of the team. I’ve had some of my greatest success with Yoshimura Suzuki and the entire team has always worked hard at giving me great motorcycles to race.

“I would like to stay involved in racing in some way. I enjoy working with the young riders coming up and we’ll see what the future holds.”

Hayden followed in the footsteps of his older brothers Tommy and Nicky into the professional racing ranks as both flat track and road racers. Like Roger, both Tommy and Nicky spent time racing for Suzuki.

The massive success enjoyed by all three Haydens made them perhaps the best-known brother trio in the history of motorcycle racing. An entire generation of fans grew up watching and rooting for the Hayden brothers. Perhaps the highlight of their career as a racing family, was when Nicky, Tommy and Roger swept the podium at the 2002 Springfield TT AMA Grand National. It marked the first and only time in the long history the AMA Grand National Championship that brothers completed a podium sweep.

Roger grew up in a racing family in Owensboro, Kentucky. Both his father and mother (Earl and Rose) raced as well as his two sisters Kathleen and Jenny. Roger entered his first race at the age of six and was already a nationally-known rider by the time he turned pro in 1999 due to the fact that he’d won a lot of races in the amateur ranks in both flat track and road racing. Roger also earned the prestigious AMA Horizon Award in 1998 when he was just 15.

Roger launched his professional road racing career in 1999 at the age of 16. He showed amazing potential even as a rookie when he scored an impressive fifth-place result in the AMA 750cc Supersport race at Road Atlanta. From there his results continued to grow ever more impressive with each season. He scored his first AMA 750 Superstock podium finish at age 17. His first two seasons racing as a pro road racer were aboard Suzuki GSX-Rs.

In 2006 he was named AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year and then in 2007 he won the AMA Supersport Championship.

In 2011 Roger returned to the Suzuki camp, racing Superbike for National Guard Jordan Suzuki. In 2012 he scored his first AMA Pro Superbike victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Jordan squad.

Roger has been part of Yoshimura Suzuki since 2014. To date his career MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike win total stands at seven. Roger is coming off his most successful season of MotoAmerica Superbike racing in a long and successful career. He was title contender much of the 2017 season. Along the way he stood on the rostrum 15 times in the 18-race series, scoring three victories. Hayden secured second in the championship, giving the new Suzuki GSX-R1000 a 1-2 result in the machine’s debut season. In addition, Roger earned seven Superpoles in 2017, a season best in the championship.

Besides his success in the American championships, Roger also enjoyed racing on the world championship level as wildcard rider in MotoGP and Moto2 and as a regular in World Superbike in 2010.

“We are honored to have Roger as part of the Suzuki racing family,” said Suzuki race support manager, Pat Alexander. “He set a standard of excellence and hard work throughout his career and he’s been a great asset for Suzuki. We hope to continue working with Roger into the future.”

Yoshimura Suzuki Racing’s president Don Sakakura is similarly happy with his team’s association with Roger.

“The Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing Team has been privileged the past four-and-a-half seasons to work along-side Roger,” Sakakura said. “Our team has evolved over the years as a result of Roger’s competitive dedication, and his racing spirt. 20 seasons of professional road racing is an impressive accomplishment. Equally, I respect Roger for his integrity and his core family values, we’ve all enjoyed the company of the Hayden family for countless years. We all wish Roger the very best as he transitions to his next phase in life. Thanks for the amazing memories Roger!”

Fans will have the opportunity to watch Roger race and to see him during fan walks in the remaining four rounds of the 2018 MotoAmerica Series. Next up is the Championship of Sonoma (California) at Sonoma Raceway on Aug. 10-12.

MotoGP 2018 Round 10

Following two back-to-back wins and a two-week break, Marc Marquez now has the Czech GP on his radar, an event where he will hit the special milestone of 100 MotoGP races.

The landmark is a good occasion for a quick look at the amazing achievements the 25-year-old has tallied so far in his still relatively short Premier Class career. In the five seasons and 99 MotoGP races since his debut in the class at the 2013 Qatar GP, Marc has so far earned:

· 40 wins

· 70 podiums

· 48 pole positions

· 42 fastest laps

· 4 World Titles (the youngest-ever rider to win four premier-class World Championships)

The Championship leader looks forward to updating some of those statistics next Sunday, at a track where he won last year and where he attended a one-day private test in early July alongside teammate Dani Pedrosa, who has also been very successful at the Czech circuit through his career.

The Repsol Honda pair have achieved two 1-2 finishes at the Czech GP, in 2013 and 2017. Marc holds the Pole record of 1’54.596” (2016), Dani the Circuit record at 1’56.027” (2014).

“We had a good test at Brno and we’re coming off of wins at two very different races, one an all-out battle and one more tactical, so we arrive in Brno in a confident mood. It was also good to enjoy a few days of vacation to recharge the batteries and prepare for the second half of the season, which will still be very long with 10 races to go, and not easy at all. Our rivals are riding fast at every circuit and in every situation, so we must understand and plan the best strategy each time. We’re working very well with the team and the HRC engineers, and we must continue that trend. I’ll go to Brno not thinking about the advantage in the Championship, as if we were all still at the beginning, on zero points. The target for Sunday is to try and win, but if the situation won’t allow it, we’ll manage to get the best result possible.”

Dani Pedrosa 26

“We’ve had a few days off, not a real summer break but good nevertheless. Now we go to Brno, which is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar, so we hope to be a little faster there. In order to do that, we must improve the feeling and setup of the bike, because so far we’ve been facing some problems everywhere. We mainly need to improve in cornering, because at the moment I can’t turn the bike fast enough, especially mid-corner and out of the corners.”

2 Lithuanian motorcyclists started round-the-world-trip from Lithuania in October 2016 equipping RK 525GXW chain.They travel to South, Central, and North America riding through Andes Mountains and Rocky Mountains. Then, they travel from eastern Russia to central Asia, Middle East, and African Continent where the most of roads are gravel road.

After the journey of Africa, 2 travelers ride in Europe toward North Cape, Norway, and finally come back to Lithuania in July 2018.

The total ridden km for the whole travel is 100,334km and the total days they spend is 646 days.